Learning about vCenter Server Heartbeat

VMware provides you with manuals that show you how to work with vCenter
Server Heartbeat. Additionally, you can view a video that introduces you
to the product and demonstrates a sample installation. To download and play
the video:

Click Video
Download and save the .zip file to a folder on your computer.

Extract the files into a directory on your system and navigate to the
vCSHB_QuickStart_VideoInstall subdirectory.

Double-click the vCSHB_QuickStart_VideoInstall.html file to start the
video.

Prior Releases of vCenter
Server Heartbeat

Features and known issues from prior releases of vCenter Server Heartbeat
are described in the release notes for each release. To view release notes
for a prior release of vCenter Server Heartbeat, click the following link:

Before You Begin

Note: Before installing this release, review the vCenter
Server Heartbeat Quick Start Guide for important information about environmental
requirements and the selection of options during the installation process.

This release of vCenter Server Heartbeat supports the following versions
of SQL Server

SQL Server 2005 SP1-SP3
SQL Server 2008

This release of vCenter Server Heartbeat only supports vCenter Converter
Enterprise. This version of vCenter Server Heartbeat does not support vCenter
Converter 3.0.3 (Starter edition) or vCenter Converter Standalone 4.0.

Installation Notes for This
Release

See the vCenter Server Heartbeat Guides before installing this software.
You must verify that your server environment meets the minimum requirements
for the network option (LAN or WAN) selected. These guides also address
minimum hardware/software requirements and scaling recommendations associated
with this release. To view a guide, click one of the following links:

Upgrading to vCenter Server
Heartbeat 5.5 Update 1

This release of vCenter Server Heartbeat 5.5 Update 1 supports upgrades
only from previously supported versions. The vCenter Server Heartbeat 5.5
Update 1 Installer prompts you to perform an upgrade only when a previously
supported version of vCenter Server Heartbeat is found. See the Reference
Guide for installation requirements and KB
1010474 (vCSHB-Ref-1763) for the upgrade procedures.

Note: If upgrading from an Evaluation Version of vCenter
Server Heartbeat to a Production Version, refer to KB
1010792 (vCSHB-Ref-1767) for the upgrade procedure.

This release of vCenter Server Heartbeat supports upgrading to the latest
version or vCenter Server 4.0. Perform the Upgrade to vCenter Server Heartbeat
5.5 Update 1 before upgrading to vCenter Server 4.0. See KB
1010479 (vCSHB-Ref-1764) if protecting vCenter Server only or KB
1010483 (vCSHB-Ref-1765) if protecting vCenter Server with a local SQL
database for instructions on how to upgrade vCenter Server 2.5 and its updates
to a later version or vCenter Server 4.0

New Issues with vCenter Server
Heartbeat 5.5 Update 1, Build 2254

The following issues exist in this build of vCenter Server Heartbeat 5.5
Update 1 (Build 2254):

vCenter Server Heartbeat Networking

Managed ESX host not responding
A Managed ESX host enters a Not Responding state after
a switchover when the vpxd.cfg file is configured with a management
IP address.Workaround: Configure the Managed IP using the vSphere Client
and set the Managed IP address to the Principal (Public) IP address
of the vCenter Server Heartbeat active server.

Incorrect network configuration might cause vSphere Client Plug-in
installation errors
Installing vCenter Plug-ins through the vSphere Client requires the vSphere
Client to connect and download the plug-ins through the Principal (Public)
IP address. The Principal (Public) network adapter must be first in the
bind order. If vSphere Client is configured with any other IP address,
then the installation will fail.Workaround: Ensure that prior to installing VMware vCenter
Plug-ins that the Principal (Public) network adapter is shown as first
in the bind order of the Network Connections > Advanced
> Advanced Settings dialog and that the vSphere Client
lists the Principal (Public) IP address as the network identification
for each of the components.

In a WAN environment, vCenter Orchestrator is not accessible after
a switchover or failover until it has been reconfigured with the new Principal
(Public) IP address
After switchover or failover in a WAN environment, vCenter Orchestrator
Server is not accessible until it has been reconfigured with the Principal
(Public) IP address of the newly active server.Workaround: Manually reconfigure vCenter Orchestrator
Web Configuration with the Principal (Public) IP address. For more information
about reconfiguring vCenter Orchestrator, see KB 1010470 (vCSHB-Ref-1762).

vCenter Server
Heartbeat Setup

vCenter Server Heartbeat Setup fails when run from a mapped drive
Running vCenter Server Heartbeat Setup.exe remotely from a mapped network
drive causes Setup to terminate.Workaround: Download the distribution .zip file to a
physical drive on the server, extract the contents to a local folder,
and run Setup.exe from the folder.

Setup fails to properly extract files if WinRAR is used to extract
the kit
Extraction utilities that do not extract empty folders will cause Setup
to fail.Workaround: Use WinZip, Windows Explorer, or utilities
that can be configured to extract empty folders when extracting the kit
files.

vCenter Server Heartbeat does not support the ` (grave accent)
character
vCenter Server Heartbeat does not support usernames and passwords that
use the ` (grave accent) character. Change the vCenter Server password
before configuring vCenter Server Heartbeat rules.

Install Clone — Prior to starting Setup on the Secondary
server, the WebClient service must be set to Manual or Automatic
If VMware License Server is installed, before starting vCenter Server
Heartbeat Setup you must set the WebClient service to Manual or Automatic.
Failing to do so will result in an error preventing Setup from progressing.

vCenter Server Heartbeat
Administration

vSphere Client must not be left running on the passive server
during a switchover operation
Leaving the vSphere Client running during a switchover operation will
cause vCenter Server Heartbeat to go into a Sweep Synchronize state and
initiate a Full System Check.Workaround: Close the vSphere Client and the files will
synchronize.

Manually checking the value of a rule using the Application > Rules
tab of vCenter Server Heartbeat Console does not provide immediate feedback
Manually selecting a rule and clicking on the Check Now
button fails to update the value in a timely manner.

After changing the look and feel of the vCenter Server Heartbeat
Console, some settings are not retained.
After configuring the look and feel preferences, some subordinate dialogs
do not display with the new look and feel.

vCenter Server Heartbeat
Plug-ins

State of plug-in not replicated from active server to passive
server
The enabled / disabled state of plug-ins in the vSphere Client are not
replicated from the active server to the passive server.

vCenter Orchestrator User Preferences are not replicated by vCenter
Server Heartbeat
vCenter Orchestrator User Preferences are not replicated from the active
server to the passive server.

A user's Custom Performance Charts are not replicated by vCenter
Server Heartbeat
Custom Performance Chart settings are not replicated from the active server
to the passive server. br> Workaround: Create an Inclusion
File Filter for:C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\VMware\**.

vCenter Server Heartbeat
Tasks

Protected Service Discovery
Under normal operating conditions, vCenter Server Heartbeat runs the Protected
Service Discovery task at the interval configured in the vCenter Server
Heartbeat Console. When vCenter Server is run in the evaluation mode,
vCenter Server Heartbeat will detect this condition through the plug-in
Rules and display the Application Health status as Degraded.
When the Application Health status is Degraded,
Protected Service Discovery tasks will not run.Workaround: To allow the Protected Service Discovery
task to run while running vCenter Server is in the evaluation mode, disable
the Check vCenter License rule through the vCenter Server
Heartbeat Console. Refer to KB 1010463 (vCSHB-Ref-1754)
for procedures to disable the vCenter License Check rule using the vCenter
Server Heartbeat Console.

vCenter Server Heartbeat
Rules

DB Files Allocated Space check cannot analyze the SQLEXP_VIM instance
The VMware SQL Server Plug-in may fail to read performance counter information
for the instance on the Secondary server after switchover. VMware SQL
Server Plug-in counters are not available on the Secondary server when
passive because the SQL Server services are stopped. .NET may cache this
information and when the rule runs on the Secondary server when active,
it provides this cached information on the availability of the counters
instead of looking for the counters.

Resolved Issues

vCenter Server
Heartbeat Setup

Heartbeat Interval must be manually configured to 70 sec
This release resolves an issue in the previous release that required the
user to manually configure the Heartbeat Interval to 70 seconds to allow
vCenter Server using a remote SQL database to connect.

During Setup, excluding protected data also excludes required
files
This release resolves an issue in the previous release that failed to
add some required files to the backup set during installation.

During Setup, if VMware Converter 3.0.3 is installed, an error
message is displayed
This release resolves an issue in the previous release that displayed
an error message if VMware Converter 3.0.3 is installed and the WebClient
service was disabled.

vCenter Server
Heartbeat Configuration

After a switchover, vCenter Server fails
to connect to the local License Server that was specified using the Principal
(Public) IP address
The issue was corrected where vCenter Server failed to connect to the
local License Server that was specified using the Principal (Public) IP
address after a switchover or failover.

vCenter Server Heartbeat
Services

If a service fails to start after a switchover or failover, vCenter
Sever Heartbeat will attempt to restart the service for the duration of
the application timeout
This issue was resolved with this release and vCenter Server Heartbeat
will continuously attempt to restart the service for the remaining duration
of the application timeout (default 10 minutes).

vCenter Server Heartbeat
Tasks

vCenter Server license settings are not replicated if failover
occurs immediately after changing them
This release corrects the issue with delayed replication of license setting
changes by allowing discovery to run more frequently, so that license
setting changes are replicated with little or no delay.